Know nothing about football? Here's a crash course

Published 10:00 pm, Friday, February 3, 2006

Let's agree from the start: There is nothing wrong with the concept of late-breaking Seahawks fans. The more, the merrier on this Super Bowl Sunday.

Any true Seahawks fan recognizes the Pittsburgh Steelers fan base is deeper and longer than the Allegheny itself, or any of those other rivers flowing through the Pennsylvania city. We need bodies here, people.

But there is no reason that casual fans have to be asking questions such as, "What is an AFC?" or "Is a strong safety not free and a free safety not strong?" Assuming the role of expert is simply part of being a fan; just eavesdrop on any sports-bar conversation or tune into a sports-talk radio station. Here are some ways to impress your sports-fan friends during Sunday's Super Bowl and, who knows, maybe even boost the Seahawks' karma.

Pace yourself: Don't spill all of your newfound knowledge and one-liners before the opening kickoff. The game doesn't start until 3:30-something Sunday and the pregame shows started, oh, about a week ago Tuesday. Look for the right time to discuss the points herein, preferably without part of a ham sandwich still in your mouth.

Deep thinking: Here is one of the truths about professional football. Teams with the best players deep into the roster win games and championships. There are 11 Seahawks players allowed on the field during any one play. But there are more than 11 regulars on offense or defense, while another dozen or so play on the kicking teams.

For instance, the Seahawks coaches rotate defensive tackles (the big guys in the middle of the line) to keep them fresh throughout a game. You will even see Maurice Morris spell star running back Shaun Alexander.

Depth is vital because players get injured. Backups have to be ready, such as when Morris filled in for Alexander (concussion, out for the game) during the first playoff win, against the Redskins. Three different players have manned a critical cornerback spot on defense. Star receiver Darrell Jackson missed a bunch of games during the regular season. The teams with the best backup players typically win championships.

Impress your friends by waiting for Seahawks defensive back Marquand Manuel's first tackle or broadcast mention. Then comment on his hustling style of play. Manuel has surprised with his solid, above-average performance as a substitute for former starter Ken Hamlin, who was lost for the season because of serious injuries from a brawl outside a bar.

Safety valve: For the record, a safety is one of two defensive players who are farthest back in the formation. The strong safety lines up on the side with the most opposing players to the right or left of center. The free safety typically is, in fact, free to go where he thinks the ball is going.

In the zone: You will hear a lot about "zone blitzes" Sunday. Remember that even a lot of so-called serious fans can't precisely define the term.

A blitz is any rush to tackle the quarterback. Defensive linemen, who play down in a crouch, usually rush the quarterback or work to contain a runner from picking up too much yardage. Linebackers, the next guys back, might blitz or stay back to help cover the pass and/or the run.

Defensive backs traditionally cover the pass, especially cornerbacks (they are the ones you will see leaping with receivers to intercept or bat away thrown balls from the quarterback). The aforementioned safeties might stay back to help cover receivers or rush the quarterback in a so-called safety blitz (either to tackle him or at least hurry his passes).

Stay with me, almost there.

Blitzes are risky because more offensive players can get open for a pass, especially if the quarterback gets rid of the ball quickly. The zone blitz is different because if a linebacker blitzes, then one of the linemen will drop back to help cover the pass. When a safety blitzes, a linebacker drops back farther to be a quasi-cornerback or safety. It confuses the quarterback, who often throws to a spot and not an actual player.

Steelers defensive mastermind, coach Dick LeBeau, is a big believer in the zone blitz, which comes in many variations. It will be vital for the Seahawks' offensive line and fullback Mack Strong to "pick up" the zone blitzes and for quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to figure out which Steelers are dropping back and who is least able to cover a pass.

You now know more about zone blitzes than 99 percent of America -- and why offensive lineman are smarter than you think.

Keeping up with the Joneses: Walter Jones is a perennial star offensive lineman for the Seahawks. He plays left tackle, which means he protects Hasselbeck's "blind side" when the right-handed QB is throwing a pass. Some professional sports gamblers bet games strictly on which team has the better offensive left tackle. Jones, who is considered the best offensive left tackle in football, participated in training camp this season for the first time in years.

Jones and his teammates on the line are veterans and are familiar with each other's styles and tendencies. They anticipate each other's moves and don't yell back and forth like a lot of linemen on other teams.

"If (offensive linemen) are not making calls at the line," Jones told Sports Illustrated last week, "it confuses defensive linemen. At that point they can only guess what you're cooking up."

Feel free to use any or all of these statements during any successful run of Seahawks offensive plays.

On guard: The entire Seahawks offensive line is terrific. Left guard Steve Hutchinson plays next to Jones. Just five years into his pro career, Hutchinson is compared with all-time greats at his position. When Alexander tried to hand him a trophy for a victory lap after the conference championship game, Hutchinson took one look at the media cameras and declined. During the season, writes P-I Seahawks beat reporter Danny O'Neil, Hutchinson goes to sleep at 9:30 p.m. every night except Wednesday, when he stays up until 10 to watch "Lost."

Feel free to use any or all of these statements during any successful run or Seahawks offensive plays.

Acronym update: AFC stands for American Football Conference. The Steelers are AFC champions. NFC stands for National Football Conference. The Seahawks are NFC champions. If you vaguely remember something about the Seahawks being in the AFC, true story, but wave it off as ancient history.

The AFC is widely regarded as a stronger and more competitive conference this season. That's why the Steelers, ranked sixth in the AFC, are favored against the Seahawks, the No. 1 seed from the NFC.

Seeing red: The "red zone" is a relatively new term. It means the last 20 yards before a team gets into the end zone. Analysts like to talk about how a team performs once it gets into the red zone, as in how often does the team score a touchdown (best case), field goal (still decent) or come away without points (terrible for team esteem).

Along with knowing the red-zone lexicon, two tips. One is don't use the pregame party to introduce the term: It veers toward football geekism and will blow your cover. Two, it gets harder to score in the red zone because the defense hunkers down even more and there is less room for receivers to get open for passes.

Box set: When coaches and announcers talk about how many defensive players are "in the box," they are referring to how many defenders are close enough to the line of scrimmage (where the play starts) to be able to stop a runner. The Steelers use three defensive linemen and four linebackers in the box while the Seahawks flip the formation with four linemen in front and three linebackers next.

If either team struggles to stop runners, casually mention that "putting another player in the box would help their defense."

Two for the show: "Cover two" is a term used liberally on talk shows and online football junkie sites. It basically means two defense players drop back deep to protect against a long pass ("bomb"). If the Steelers have third down and long, especially if they fall behind, a curt "Boy, let's hope the Hawks are in cover two" is appropriate.

Lords of the rings: Don't use this unless things are looking good for the Seahawks late in the game and the announcers are discussing the fact that head coach Mike Holmgren will become the first man to lead two different teams to Super Bowl titles.

"Great coaches surround themselves with great coaches," you will say, feeling the champagne bottle to see if it is cold enough. "The Seahawks' coaches have 18 Super Bowl rings between them. The Steelers' coaches only have eight."